UT-Austin establishes campus carry working group

Lauren McGaughy

August 20, 2015Updated: August 20, 2015 2:45pm

Photo: Ralph Barrera, MBO

Gov. Greg Abbott signs into law bills to allow concealed carrying of handguns on college campuses and open carrying of them elsewhere in the state Saturday at Red's Indoor Range in Pflugerville. (Ralph Barrera / Austin American-Statesman via Associated Press)

Gov. Greg Abbott signs into law bills to allow concealed carrying...

AUSTIN - The University of Texas at Austin has assembled a working group to begin discussing policies the flagship campus will implement regarding the concealed carry of handguns.

The panel's 19-members include several faculty, staff and students, as well as former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, a UT-Austin alumnus, and Sandra Blount, a UT parent from Sugar Land.

While Texas lawmakers this year passed legislation to abolish the state's campus carry ban, the final version of the law gives wide discretion to each campus community to outline its own policy that may include designated "gun free" zones.

The law goes into effect Aug. 1, 2016, giving campuses just under a year to come up with their individualized policies. In a new website explaining the law and the working group's mandate, UT-Austin President Greg Fenves said the panel will issue its campus carry policy recommendations in December.

Translator

To read this article in one of Houston's most-spoken languages, click on the button below.

In addition to the working group, members of the UT and surrounding community also will be given the opportunity to weigh in, beginning this fall, the website states.

The campus carry bill was sponsored by Republican state Sen. Brian Birdwell of Granbury. His original version would have not have allowed public colleges to opt out certain parts of campus from the new law. That provision was added during the last stages of the legislative process as a compromise after opposition from several higher education leaders, including UT System Chancellor Bill McRaven, over cost and safety concerns.

The new law will not allow public colleges and universities to completely ban guns on campus or designate wide swaths of campus as gun-free, simply stating the restrictions must be reasonable. While the policies cannot be undone by the Legislature, boards of regents can vote to amend policies they think are too restrictive.

"Fenves take issues surrounding guns on campus very seriously and will strive to create policies that conform to the new law, protect the rights of citizens and ensure the safety and security of the entire campus," UT-Austin's website states.